Asian, Australian Property Markets Begin to Cool

A piece in the Vancouver Sun looks at slumping property markets in several cities across the Pacific. "While each city in the region has its own distinct characteristics, there are a few common denominators: rising borrowing costs, increased government regulation and volatile stock markets. There's also dwindling demand from a force so powerful it pushed prices to a record in many places — Chinese buyers."

In Hong Kong, "after an almost 15-year bull run that made Hong Kong notorious for having the world's least affordable property market, home prices have taken a battering." Some experts attribute the slump to a slowing mainland Chinese economy, as well as the "simmering trade war" between China and the United States.

In Singapore, "government policies are mainly to blame" for falling prices, with the luxury market particularly hard hit.

In Sydney, "while prices are still about 60 per cent higher than they were in 2012, meaning few existing homeowners are actually underwater, [...] forecasts of a further 10 per cent fall [are] making nervous investors think twice about extraneous spending."

And in Shanghai and Beijing, values are down about 5 percent from their peak, prompting developer giveaways. "One developer in September was giving away a BMW Series 3 or X1 to anyone wishing to purchase a three-bedroom unit or townhouse at its project in Shanghai."

See also: San Francisco Home Construction Expected to Slump This Year